Naked / 赤裸裸

有點難，但是學會就解放了。

Is kind of hard to learn, but it's liberating as soon as you let go of all concerns.

fun on rainy days / 下雨天的娛樂

今天很需要隨性亂畫，我的盆栽就成為了畫盤！ 

I need to doodle today, and here is the new look of my potted plant! 

small-leaved Barringtonia / 穗花棋盤腳

Morning doodle / 早課

Aura / 氣場

有一次阿美對我說：去應徵實習的職位，老闆的氣場和你很像。當時聽到這樣的形容覺得很有趣，因為我很少用這兩個字形容人。

Once A-mei said to me, "I went to this design company, and the lady in charge has an aura that reminds me of you." I was amused to hear such description because I hardly used the word "aura" to describe others. 

        最近和阿嬤相見的地方都是醫院，去的時候我好像常困在某種煩惱裡，神奇的是，我並沒有因為看到生病的阿嬤感到更加沮喪，雖然阿嬤很不舒服，可是她有種氣場，讓我看著她時，看到的是溫暖和新生，離開她時，我的宇宙又重組了一遍。

   Lately I've always met up Granny in the hospital. Usually I am trapped in a certain kind of dilemma before going. However, I do not feel more frustrated upon seeing Granny tortured by physical pain. She has an aura that makes me see warmth and new life. When I leave, my universe is reconstructed one more time. 

        幾個月前楷維替我的Moleskin筆記本封面塗鴉，他塗抹一番後我接手，我們畫了一隻很亮麗的阿嬤鳥，穿著時尚的美麗衣裳，自由自在，過了幾個月，壓克力漸漸脫落，我還是好喜歡這個角色。希望阿嬤也能夠如此無所拘束。

   Several months ago Kai doodled on my Moleskine book. I took over afterwards. We created a dazzling Granny Bird dressed in a glamorous outfit. She looks so carefree. Though the acrylics have gradually fallen off, I still love her very much for she always makes me recall my one-of-a-kind granny. 

What to hang on the wall? / 牆上掛什麼好呢？

Don't be afraid of mistakes / 不怕犯錯

花很多時間畫30M大的帆布，感覺沒有盡頭，錯了便蓋上新一層顏料，重新再來，剛開始對於老是重畫的過程有些焦急，但是想到錯誤會帶領我走上對的路，而最後的成品會被如此珍惜，我便能夠放下腳步，畫出的每一筆都帶著喜悅，閉上眼睛我可以想像它最後的美好。

I've spent much time drawing three 30M-large canvases. It feels endless. Whenever I make a mistake, I reapply a new layer of acrylics. In the beginning, that kind of wore out my patience. By reminding myself that the mistakes will lead me to the right path in the end and that the finished work will be cherished, I can thus slow down. Every brushstroke is done with joy, and I can even imagine its beauty with my eyes closed. 

I see you / 我看得見你

春天到了，花朵紛紛綻放，樹木也冒出嫩葉，最近經過楓香樹，總不禁流連樹下，觀察新葉的顏色和葉脈的分布。

Spring is in the air. Flowers blossom one after another, and the tender green leaves on the trees transform the cityscape. Lately when I pass by a sweet gum tree, I can't help lingering under it to observe the color and veins of new leaves. 

        年初去拜訪台北市最老的楓香樹，最近卻聽說帶我們去的大哥生病了，當初他告訴我們說，老楓香也一度生病，經過樹醫生治療才又恢復生機。我想春天裡，老楓香一定也萌生無數新葉，我寄了一幅畫給大哥，希望他能儘快康復。

   Earlier this year I had visited the oldest tree in Taipei, a sweet gum tree, but recently I've learned that the gentleman that took us there fell ill. He told us then that the old tree had once become sick. It was with the tree doctor's help that the tree survived. I bet in spring, the sweet gum tree must look rejuvenated again thanks to the canopy of young leaves. To cheer up our tour guide, I sent him a painting, hoping that he will get well soon. 

        人和植物的生命循環有同樣的模式，最近在看一本書叫「植物看得見你」，作者認為植物有知覺也有記憶，如果是這樣的話，我想老楓香樹會關注大哥。而我，下次千萬不要亂摘花。

   There are similar life patterns in humans and plants. I've been reading a book titled What a Plant Knows. The author thinks that plants can feel what is going on in the world. If so, I believe the sweet gum tree will secretly look after our guide. Well, as for me, I shouldn't pick flowers randomly from now on. 

Autumn / 秋天裡做什麼？

楷維一早上已經幫我畫了三張明信片，卻還嚷嚷著要畫畫，懶惰的阿姨最近的新策略是：我出題目給你，你今天可以畫下雨天在家裡畫圖。因為我把點數翻三倍，就是有點為難，阿楷也答應了。

   Kai has drawn three postcards for me in the morning; still, he hasn't had enough of it. So I come up with a new strategy by giving him a topic--draw your drawing at home on a rainy day. Since I triple the  number of brownie points, he is tempted to take the challenge. 

        我覺得楷維可以畫得更好，就誘拐他加工。

   I think Kai can do a better job, so I coax him into embellishing the image. 

        剪剪貼貼變成詩意的下雨天。

   After the collage, we turn the picture into a poetic rainy day. 

       哥哥的題目是：秋天在樹林裡散步。思維很高興地接下挑戰。

   The topic for Von is: Taking a walk in the woods in autumn. He seems highly motivated. 

        趁他走開時我拿出壓克力顏料，又幫他亂剪亂貼的，想不到狂野的楷維整個不行，搶著要幫忙。

   As he goes away, I add an acrylic touch and some more collage. Meanwhile, Kai is all worked up, fighting to help his elder brother. 

        沒有颱風的秋天是真的如此充滿光亮喔！

   This is how an autumn day without any typhoon looks, full of light and breeze. 

       也可以來個溫暖的散步！

   Or it's a good idea to go for a warm walk! 

Guts / 膽量

I am not discouraged. / 我不沮喪。

暑假裡唯一的課程業務就是上重修班，想到要把上學期的內容再重複一次，我想最後記得最熟的總是我，於是我決定來上暑期讀本，是有關安地斯山印地安人的故事，雖然我個人覺得這是一本很好看的書，但我可以預期已經打開這本書的人寥寥可數。

The only classes I am assigned during the summer break are those given to the girls who flunked their English. My head aches when it occurs to me that I have to repeat what I said during the past semester one more time. I figure it will be much more pleasant to read the summer reading novel--Secret of the Andes. Personally I find it an excellent book, but since I know my students well, I can predict that only a handful of kids have started to read it. 

        天真的孩子們以為我會一句一句講解，我是不可能讓大家這麼舒服的，學習語言若沒有對閱讀有點熱情，並且腳踏實地閱讀，就不可能進步。雖然這些同學在英文上是有點問題，但我很樂觀，我把大家分組，一起做閱讀的工作。

   The girls might be too innocent to know that it's not my thing to explain the story sentence by sentence. My belief is that it's impossible to learn a language well without doing any reading. I trust them though they are not good at English. I put them into groups to do the reading together. 

        我的學生或許不是最聰明，不過有被琢磨的潛能，花了幾乎六個小時，每一組都把分配的章節大意寫出來。

   My students might not be the smartest, but they are willing to be trained. Each group comes with their summary of the chapter assigned after six hours of hard work. 

        這個課程中我最期待的部份就是讓女孩們挑喜歡的佳句畫插圖，我把過去幾天的筆記紙搬出來，我說：讓我們用壓克力把這些討厭的英文全部塗掉！有趣的是，雖然脖子扭到很痛，從頭到尾我又叫又跳的，很像托兒所老師，不過下面的學生沒有幼兒的熱情，她們從頭到尾只是安靜地任我擺佈。

   And what I am most looking forward to is the part where the girls have to pick their favorite quotes and illustrate them. I take out the notes they have made over the past few days and yell like a madwoman: Let's erase all the detestable English words with acrylics! In fact, I have had a neck cramp, but I can't help jumping and shouting in excitement. I feel like a kindergarten teacher; the only difference is that my students don't have the passion of children. Throughout the process, they act as if they were my quiet puppets. 

        七月上完幼兒班之後心裡有些難過，為什麼過了十年之後，那些會畫畫的本能全都不見，大家會的就是不斷地滑手機，就是因為這個疑問，讓我想要把畫圖的實驗應用到高中生身上，小說裡的文字敘述的是無限的畫面，而我們每個人都有與生俱來的想像力，應該只是我們把這個能力藏起來罷了。

   After the summer camp for children in July, I have had a hard time trying to figure out something: How come our instincts to draw disappear with time passing? The five-year-olds, who can draw freely and wildly, turn out to be teenagers who are into nothing but staring at their cell phones in ten years. Because of this, I'd like to apply to the same teaching plan to the teenagers. The novel is so full of images. I believe that we all have imagination, and thus we can envision the pictures in our heads.  

        討論小說期間為了讓同學能夠想像險峻的安地斯山風景，我問二十多個人有否去過太魯閣，居然只有五個人去過，這也許不能全說是爸爸媽媽的問題，我於是說：你快要可以自立了，至少上大學前要去看一下這麼美麗的自然資產！

   While we are discussing the novel, I try to give the girls an image of the Andes by asking if they have been to the Taroko Gorge. Surprisingly, only 5 out of 22 have been there. Well, maybe I can't say the parents have to be all responsible for this, so I give a very sincere piece of advice: You are about to be 18. I think you can go on your own soon, and you shouldn't miss such beautiful natural assets! 

        這是最容易畫的佳句，到了十幾歲大家對於「不會」的東西很沒有安全感。

   This is the easiest quote to illustrate. It interests me that we feel unsafe about what we don't know as we age.

        這本書的主角之一是美洲駝，書中形容牠的叫聲是風和水的音樂，像風撫過水面。

   The llamas play an important role in the book. Llama-humming is described as wind-and-water music, like wind rippling over the water. 

        我的教書生涯要進入第十二年了，感覺卻像才正要開始，外在的環境越來越糟，但是我可以走我自己的路，儘管我的熱誠總是比學生多，但過了這個暑假，我又有了新的展望，我想我一定可以造成一點小小的不同。

   I am about to start my 12th year as a teacher, but in many ways it feels I've just begun. The outer environment is getting less and less ideal, but amidst all the chaos, I think I can always stand my own ground. It was discouraging to think that I always have a bigger dose of enthusiasm than my students, but after this summer, I have gained a new perspective. I so firmly believe that I can make a difference, no matter how small it is. 

Come to draw, boys! 4 / 孩子們來畫畫吧！4

這週思維哥哥有整天的夏令營要上，楷維卻賦閒在家，意思就是我們倆又會玩在一起。一早我忙著研究做得亂七八糟的Illustrator檔案，小子已經坐在我旁邊等畫畫，這樣應該是說他很喜歡畫圖吧！

This week Von has two summer camps to go to while Kai is again free. That means we two will hang out together. In the morning while I am busy trying to figure out how to fix my messy Illustrator files, Kai has finished his breakfast and shown up for class. I guess he must enjoy our art lessons a lot. 

        畫畫課可以反映大人和小孩的喜好，有時孩子們順著我，但有些時候我讓他們選想畫的角色，男孩們教了我很多我沒聽過的玩意，今天的主角是蛇眼。

   Our art class reflects the different preferences of adults and children. Sometimes the kids follow my lead while other times I let them choose their favorite characters. In fact, the boys have taught me so much; for example, before today, I had never heard of Snake Eyes. 

        用楷維隨意彩繪的廢紙來剪貼爬行的蛇效果挺好的。

   I use Kai's colored scrap paper to cut crawling snakes, which look quite good. 

        翻過來就是帥氣的蛇眼！

   Turn the page, and the dashing Snake Eyes is right there in front of our eyes. 

        上完專屬的美術課，楷維不想回家，於是和我一起研究我很沉迷的印刷技術。

   After his one-man art class, Kai doesn't want to go home, so we work on the printing skills that have fascinated me lately. 

        楷維的西瓜色調很吸引人。

   The color schemes of Kai's watermelon are very charming. 

        我們用不同的紙材下去印，效果都不一樣。

   We use various kinds of paper to print. The effect differs, which excites us the moment we tear off the paper. 

        印刷就像人與人的關係，同樣的兩張紙碰在一起不一定會有出色的效果，而且還有可能黏住，反而是我剛開始沒看好的紙居然有意外的效果。

   The relationships between two pieces of paper in printing are the same as human relationships. The same kind of paper might not work. Instead, the sheets might be stuck to each other. However, paper which I didn't expect to work brings amazing surprises. 

        這個肌理實在太神奇了，使得我忍不住跟之後打電話來的貝琳分享！

   The texture is so miraculous that I can't help sharing it with Bei-lin, who happens to be the first person I talk to after the experiment.